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Faith of the Light
"Many forget that it was from ashes where we rose. When the slate was wiped clean of the filth prior, our neighbors were breaking rocks against bone and brimstone. We rose above, not only because we were superior, but it was our unquestionable duty to the Light to see its Glaze spread upon the dark night and the savagery it shrouds. Now the ash falls a second time, and you think we have been defeated? Dawn approaches, and you will not live to see it." '' : —Archinquistor Hugue Hobb of the Glorious Seventeen The '''Faith of the Light', also known as the Hard-Glaze, '''or shortened to the '''Glaze, is a collection of ideas and beliefs widely held by most in the territory of the far-reaching Holy Hierarchy. The faith is said to have originated during the hundred years of hardship, until it finally sparked the Holy Hierarchy Wars that led to the ultimate creation of said government. The origin of the word 'Glaze' is speculated to be a combination of both "Glare" and "Gaze", both used to describe the intense solar flares of our nearest star, Sol. The vast majority of those who follow and practice the Faith of the Light have only a simplistic and vague understanding of it. Common folk, far secluded from the hard workings of the government, often create their own interpretations of the religion that are vastly different from official text. Indeed the true understanding of the Glaze is extremely complex, often intermixing philosophical inquiries, works of abstract art, and even some advanced mathematical equations. The Unenlightened Fucklets, critics of Glazic ways, often claim that the reason why the Glaze is so hard to understand is so that commoners will be unable to comprehend it, and thus cannot question their lord's command. This is disproved by the mere existence of Karmine Wiltan, a man born in a poor county district, who saw the Light and rose up to become the new Minister of Faith. Although the teachings of the Glaze are spread out among many thousands of old scripture, there supposedly exists a singular Manifesto, one that links back any who may read it - the original first text of Glaze. Although many artifact searches have been commissioned by various clergymen, no man alive knows the whereabouts of this holy relic. Age of Darkness At present, the church of Light is fractured. The few of noble blood who have minds sophisticated enough to understand the Glaze will often quarrel with one another, choosing instead to fight for the power of holy rule and divine right. Common folk, who cannot be trusted with the teachings of the Glaze, are sent like lambs to the slaughter to preserve their lord's holy vision. While there was once centralized rule under one pope, multiple schisms and power struggles have ensured that there now exists many anti-popes, each with the backing of fanatical zealots who are ready to fight and die to prove that their lord's interpretation of Hard-Glaze is the sole true one. With the death of God, many of the Faith of Light have turned to evil ways out of fear and desperation. Yet there are still those who remain, throughout all the death and hopeless decay. God may be dead, but far behind that ashen sky of the cursed earth, Sol still shines. It is believed by the new Glazic Church that through the survival of the new Holy Hierarchy and the cleansing of the lands, a new God will be born, and the Undergod will be damned to hell, where He will take Satan's place as the new prince of darkness, completing a long cycle of destruction and rebirth.